'Fraid I have to agree with brother Steve on this one. As some of you might know, I'm fascinated with folks' background influences...why they bahave as they do, why others behave in a certain way around them, what gives them power, HOW they use it, etc.

I've learned that I HAVE to separate the negatives from the positives (or I'd have no heroes at all). So when it comes down to Bob Dylan, it seems that he was a total bully right from his early teen years. He was always extremely attractive to women...but treated them all horridly..which sadly, seemed to make the attraction stronger. He constantly played nasty games with his friends...and they slavishly hung in there. His drive and ambition seemed to know no bounds, so a great many musical friends got used very badly. ie. Van Ronk, Paul Clayton, Martin Carthy, etc.

So what was the result? A large body of magnificent work. Far more drek than good stuff, but my guess is that we could come up with at least 30 songs that have had huge significance. VERY FEW (if any) songwriters, have that kind of track record. Even folks like Foster, Berlin, Gershwyn, Rogers, Lightfoot, Rodgers (Richard), McCartney, or Guthrie, would start getting a bit thin at 30. But Dylan wouldn't. A talented artist with a ruthless approach, is still talented.

So he was/is(?) a prick. He was/is a genius, as well.

Rick